One year on: grand chief reflects

It’s been one year since the current Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) were elected to their current roles, and it’s a year that’s been marked with political ups and downs.

For many in the community, the term so far has been less than ideal, with lawsuits and controversy on issues like cannabis overshadowing any major successes. For others, including MCK grand chief Cody Diabo, there’s been several key highlights that represent serious progress in the community.

Among those includes a historic agreement signed with Quebec in December of last year, which Diabo said makes for a more promising path forward in interactions with the province.

“Obviously it’s not a done deal, the relationship itself is still not where it needs to be, I think it’s going to take a lot of time and conversations between me and the premier to make sure that its spirit is followed up on, but it was long-awaited,” Diabo said.

For Diabo, many of the key achievements of this Council have been land-based, and he pointed to the launch of the Still Ours campaign earlier last month, which seeks to educate people about the Seigneury of Sault St. Louis.

“It was launched a little bit later than we had hoped, but it’s definitely generating a lot of buzz,” he said.

Diabo and the rest of the Council table have also seen an overhaul at the federal level, after Mark Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister in March.

Tensions have been high since then, with the MCK one of many Indigenous governments opposing the recently passed Bill C-5, which aims to fast-track infrastructure projects. Many, including MCK chiefs, say that the bill comes at the expense of Indigenous land rights, and though Diabo invited Carney to discuss it in Kahnawake, he didn’t receive direct communication from the prime minister before its passage.

He will be attending a meeting with Carney and a number of other federal ministers next week, including Mandy Gull-Masty, the first-ever Indigenous minister of Indigenous services.

“I’m hoping me and him can at least have some dialogue,” Diabo said.

The Council table has also faced a number of lawsuits over the past year, including a $220.57 million suit from Magic Palace, which is suing MCK and Diabo personally, as well as a lawsuit from former head of Mohawk Online, Dean Montour, whom the MCK responded to with a countersuit.

“I’d say it’s not uncommon when decisions are made that sometimes it’ll result in legal situations for the Council, and there’s been things over the history of MCK that get brought to court,” Diabo said.

Of the 12 MCK chiefs at the council table, five were new. It’s therefore been a very different year than the last, as the organization adjusts to that new leadership, Diabo said.

“It takes a little while to find your footing to start working as a team, it’s not easy bringing 12 people together and trying to get it to work together. Of course we’ll have differing opinions, and that’s why the community put us here, to represent all these different opinions and positions,” he said. “There’s been lots of conversations and people getting used to the expectations of the role.”

He said he’s confident about the rest of the term to come and that return of lands is one of his biggest priorities going forward.

“That was a major point for me in the election as well as a priority for the rest of the community, so that’s still one of our focuses and the team is working really hard on it,” he said.

[email protected]